Names of regional sites again changed for NCAA basketball tournament

Forget a scorecard; fans need a geography degree to keep up with the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

For the third time in six years, names for the sites of the regional semifinals and final are changing. The NCAA says it is choosing common sense over consistency.

Because of where the host cites are, two new designations are being used this year: Southeast (New Orleans) and Southwest (San Antonio). They replace South and Midwest. The others will be East (Newark, N.J.) and West (Anaheim, Calif.).

David Worlock, associate director of the Division I men's basketball championship, said in an e-mail:

"The cities hosting the four regional spots next month dictated that we apply common sense and use East for Newark, West for Anaheim, Southwest for San Antonio and Southeast for New Orleans. It didn't make sense to call either New Orleans or San Antonio the South Region and then have to call the other one the Midwest Region, so instead we labeled them accordingly. Next year, we will be back to having an East Regional in Boston, a West in Phoenix, a South in Atlanta and Midwest Regional in St. Louis because geographically it makes sense."

Traditionally, the tournament used regional designations. But from 2004 to 2006, the designation was by city name, for example, the Atlanta Regional. In 2007, the NCAA went back to the standard geographical names.

But just one last question: If Boston is a host city next year, why isn't it the Northeast Regional?

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